The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy maintains this blog to disseminate information relevant to astronomers who identify as women. If you have an idea for a blog post or topic, please submit to wia-blog at lists.aas.org.
The views expressed on this site are not necessarily the views of the CSWA, the AAS, its Board of Trustees, or its membership.

1. Take the "work" out of networkingFrom: Deanna Ratnikova via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com

[This week's guest blogger is Deanna Ratnikova. Deanna is the Women and Education Programs Administrator with the American Physical Society. In this role, she works on the Women in Physics program and provides administrative support to the Education and Diversity Department. She earned a B.S. in Chemistry at Austin Peay State University and a Master of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. - eds.]

If the idea of networking makes you cringe, you're not alone. When we discuss networking, we often talk about approaching unfamiliar people and trying to establish rapport with them in a relatively short period of time. We then have to follow up and nurture the relationship. This process can be awkward and may seem insincere, and most of all, it's a lot of work.

Don't give up on networking, however. It is one of the most powerful tools for advancing your career. Many job openings are not advertised, and in those cases, you need to know someone to find out about them. This is where networking comes into play-it helps you build contacts that, one day, may call you when they hear of a job opening appropriate for your interests and expertise.

If you want to network but don't know where to start, here are five tips for taking the 'work' out of networking.

Back to top.2. White House Panel - Women and Girls in STEMFrom: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]

On April 24, 2012, from 10:30 - 11:45 AM EST, the White House Council on Women and Girls will broadcast live online a panel discussion promoting women in STEM fields. The panel consists of trailblazing women who will share their experiences and path in their respective STEM fields to encourage young women to follow in their footsteps or to blaze their own trail. The online audience can participate in the live stream broadcast as well as those connecting via Twitter. In addition, the first public screening of a White House video on girls in STEM will be shown.

I wish to mention that 2/3 of the invited speakers [to the first ever conference on binary quasars held in Trieste (ITALY) April 25, 2012, 25 years after the first discovery of a binary quasar] are female, making this meeting unprecedented in the history of astronomy! Please visit

for recent statistics compiled by the AAS Committee on the Status of Invited Women Speakers [which shows this meeting as having the highest percentage to date]. The list of women (and men) speakers, their (pdf) slides, and abstract page that may contain additional links such as simulation movies, websites and relevant papers can be found at

On behalf of the SOC amp; LOC, I hope you enjoy all the exciting results presented at this meeting.

Back to top.4. The Matilda Effect in ScienceFrom: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]

The Matilda Effect is the lack of equal recognition of women to men regarding scientific efforts and achievements. A recent article by Lincoln et al. in the April 2012 Social Studies of Science journal studies the Matilda Effect for US awards and prizes in the 1990s and 2000s. They outline the gender bias in 13 STEM disciplinary societies, finding two major influences -- implicit bias and committee chairs (i.e., men heading panels) -- as contributing factors to why men receive a higher proportion of scholarly research awards. Only 5% of women won awards from panels headed by men compared to 23% from panels headed by women. Men are more likely to head prestigious research award panels and men are more likely to contact other men when seeking nominations. Women are not winning awards and prizes because they are not being nominated. Of the awards women receive, they are more in service (32.2%, 2001-2010) and teaching (37.1%, 2001-2010). The US culture still pushes the belief that scholarly efforts by women are less important than those by men. External social factors that directly relate to women's science careers and ghettoization of women's accomplishments into 'women-only' awards are also discussed in the article.

To read the journal article (a subscription may be needed), please see

The 2012 World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development finds women represent 40% of the world's labor force and more than half the world's university students. If women's skills and talents are more fully utilized, the study suggests that productivity overall will increase by as much as 25%. Also, society benefits when women are empowered, are more represented in and are more involved in decision making. Although, women's lives have improved dramatically worldwide, gaps still exist: Women still have unequal access to economic opportunities; women still earn less than men; women are limited in productivity. Domestic policies are encouraged to minimize institutional biases that work against women's productivity and earnings. To read the full report or the highlights, please see

[This newsletter item is related to item No. 4 above. If you know of a qualified outstanding female undergraduate science teacher, please nominate them for this award. -- eds.]

Now seeking nominations for Outstanding Undergraduate Science Teacher. Deadline is June 1, 2012.

Now is the time to nominate a worthy colleague, mentor, teacher for this annual award! Nominations are being sought for the 2013 Outstanding Undergraduate Science Teacher Award (OUSTA) granted by the Society for College Science Teachers (SCST), an affiliate of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). This year's award is also co-sponsored by Springer Science+Business Media. A nominee need not be a member of the SCST. Nominations may be made by colleagues or students and self-nominations are also encouraged!

The purpose of the OUSTA is to recognize the achievements of our teaching colleagues who have enhanced the profession as outstanding teachers of science. This annual award is based upon a selection process that evaluates nominees according to the following ranked categories: 1) teaching excellence; 2) scholarship; and 3) service. For details regarding the nomination and application process, visit

A leadership summit on STEM solutions will be held June 27-29, 2012 in Dallas, TX. For the first time on a national stage, business, education, and government leaders will meet to address the country's mission-critical need for a competitive workforce skilled in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). I did not see in the schedule a discussion on the lack of women in and promotion of women in STEM. If you would like to help determine the solutions, policies, and collective changes needed now to carry the USA, and its economy, into the future, please think of attending this conference. More information can be found at